1. Field of the Inventions
The present inventions relate to power transmitting apparatuses, such as vehicle transmissions, that selectively transmit or cut off power from an engine to the wheels of a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
Two known types of power transmitting apparatuses for selectively transmitting or cutting off power from an engine to the wheels of vehicle are manual transmissions (MT) in which speeds are shifted manually, and automatic transmissions (AT) in which speeds are shifted automatically by a torque converter. The AT can easily shift speeds; however, since the AT has poor power transmitting efficiency, an AMT-type power transmitting apparatus has been proposed that can automatically shift speeds without using a torque converter.
The AMT-type power transmitting apparatus comprises a starting clutch mechanism (start speed change clutch mechanism) for transmitting or cutting off power transmission between an engine and wheels of a vehicle, and a plurality of gear-stage clutch devices whose input and output are set at predetermined gear ratios. The plurality of gear-stage clutch devices comprises a synchronizing mechanism and a dog clutch and is configured so that the gear ratio during power transmission from the engine to the wheels can be selected by connecting the dog clutch to any one of the gear-stage clutch devices.